Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections

The campaign of election observation during the 2018 elections to local councils is carried out by the Human Right Center "Viasna" and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee. The campaign is aimed at evaluating the elections from the viewpoint of the Belarusian electoral legislation and international standards of free and democratic elections, as well as informing the Belarusian public and international community about the progress of the elections and results of observation.

Local elections on the background of shelved electoral changes — press conference by human rights defenders

They will give their assessment of the situation at the time of the announcement of the elections for the local councils of deputies of the 28th convocation. In addition, the speakers will focus on priority recommendations of international and national observers regarding the amendments to the Electoral Code, which are crucial to the holding of free and fair elections.

The speakers will also present plans for independent monitoring of the local elections, and tell about the peculiarities that will mark the observation.

The campaign "Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections", an initiative co-run by the Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Center “Viasna” since 2008, is a non-partisan initiative and does not intend to support political parties and politicians. The entire election process is assessed solely on the basis of the principles of free, democratic and transparent elections, which can enable the people of Belarus to fully exercise their constitutional right to participate in the government of the country.